Why we play - On motivational psychology, videogames and fragging noobs

What is it that makes games so good at what they do and why are we so obsessed with them?

By
Jonas Bährentz

Why do we love videogames? What is it that drives us to spend an unmentionable number of hours on stacking blocks on top of each other, interior decoration, starving in the wilds or floating aimlessly through outer space?

The simple answer is “because it’s fun”.

Videogames present us with a shot of dopamine by presenting highly concentrated doses of the feeling of competence, autonomy and relatedness, respectively.

It’s fun to step foot on an unknown planet, it’s fun to become immersed in an epic tale of good versus evil, to meticulously plant blocks in perfect alignment and create wonders – and sometimes it’s fun to just punch a melon sized hole in someone’s chest with a shoulder mounted rocket launcher. Regardless of whether you are a 1337 360-no-scoping professional or a casual candy crusher, it’s our love for the game medium that connects us all on this site. It’s the promise of adventure, progression, reward and meaning that keeps our attention in a vice. That fascination makes us stay up way past out bedtime for that ‘one last round’ or elusive trophy that isn’t real… but is!

But what is it that makes games so good at what they do and why are we so obsessed with them? The innate curiosity of man is the core motivator for playing. Beyond the characteristic escapism and stress relief, there is a very tangible set of ‘itches’ in our brain, that videogames seem to scratch. Gaming psychology expert, Dr. Scott Rigby, refers to this as the Self Determination Theory (or SDT, not to be mistaken for STD – that’s something else entirely).

Bluntly put, videogames present us with a shot of dopamine by presenting highly concentrated doses of the feeling of competence, autonomy and relatedness, respectively - and we love games for that. The feeling of competence is the natural sense of progression while autonomy is the act of making meaningful personal choices – the feeling of relatedness is the feeling of being part of (and contributing to) a group or a community – these feelings are the core fundamentals for human well-being (be it in a working, parenting or gaming related context). Videogames are built on this premise and custom tailored for you, the player. Their job is to facilitate the players’ urge to fulfill these needs without pushing or pulling these goals too much in any one direction.

Dopamine chemical structure.

The actual act of play is a voluntary attempt at overcoming unnecessary obstacles (this applies to both sports, board- and video games) - we play games because they provide problems that we can solve in a controlled manner. These challenges range from saving the galaxy, arranging 3 pink blobs next to each other or getting a headshot on that (---) who just killed you. This sense of accomplishment makes us feel better. Games provide stress relief, escapism from the mundane and the dopamine release is our just reward for accomplishing these feats.

Back in my day (this is where I sound like I’m 900 years old) games did not present much in terms of autonomy or relatedness – but we loved them never the less. Games were turn based (hot seat) at best, and the options for autonomy were pretty much limited to ‘left’, ‘right’ and/or ‘jump’. Heck, it took a bunch of years before savegames became a thing, so you didn’t have to wrap up a game in one sitting.

Nowadays, there’s no limit to what games can accomplish and options for presentation is practically limitless. We have story oriented games, simulators, twitch shooters and barebones anti-stress puzzle games. Everything is interconnected, 4K and 60FPS is becoming the norm and mobile phones vastly outperform early Y2K gaming rigs… Being a gamer has never been this good - and the best is yet to come. If the latest statistics are to be believed, gaming is a pastime the vast majority of us partake in and the market is still growing. E-sports and livestreaming is (still) making major headway in the northern hemisphere and copious people are now making a living from this. Games and gamification have invaded both the educational-, promotional- and industrial systems (for better or worse).

Some time ago, gaming may have been a niche activity perceived to be a passing craze – a gust of wind rustling the old feathers of the media industry. That time is long gone; gaming is part of the air we breathe now, so take a deep breath and help us express our mutual love for gaming.